Monsoon Assemblages 2:
Design In(g) a Delta - 2016/17
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Lindsay Bremner & Roberto Bottazzi
For three years, DS18 is aligned with Monsoon Assemblages, a research project funded by the European Research Council working on the monsoon in three South Asian cities - Chennai, Dhaka and Yangon. In 2016/I7 the studio was set in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where design was framed by the materiality of a wetland. In 2017 / I 8 the studio worked in Bangladesh, framed by the materiality of the delta, and in 2018/ I 9 the studio will be set in Yangon, Myanmar; framed by the materiality of the river. The studio in Bangladesh began by requiring that students map and simulate the geological, hydrological and socio-political processes and practices shaping the Bangladesh delta and the climatic challenges it faces. Three digital workshops introduced them to software to aid in this process. This was followed by a field trip to Bangladesh in early November 2017, where students spent five days in Dhaka hosted by the Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscape and Settlements.
They visited various sites 1n Dhaka, the ancient city of Sonargoan, a char island in the Meghna River and Jolo-Jongol, an eco -tourist facility. They the n took the overnight ferry to Khulna, where they were host ed by the Architecture Department at Khulna University, followed by two nights on a prawn farm in Mongla, from where they visited the port city of Mongla and the Sundarbans.
On return to London, students were required to design an infrastructural prototype to intervene in one of the dynamic situations they had observed on the field trip to improve the socio-eco logical outcomes of the territory. During the second semester; they developed the prototype into a micro-public place - a physical and social forum to engage with a site at multiple scales, bringing together territorial, architectural and socio- ecological concerns.
They visited various sites 1n Dhaka, the ancient city of Sonargoan, a char island in the Meghna River and Jolo-Jongol, an eco -tourist facility. They the n took the overnight ferry to Khulna, where they were host ed by the Architecture Department at Khulna University, followed by two nights on a prawn farm in Mongla, from where they visited the port city of Mongla and the Sundarbans.
On return to London, students were required to design an infrastructural prototype to intervene in one of the dynamic situations they had observed on the field trip to improve the socio-eco logical outcomes of the territory. During the second semester; they developed the prototype into a micro-public place - a physical and social forum to engage with a site at multiple scales, bringing together territorial, architectural and socio- ecological concerns.
Guest Critics:
Yota Adilenidou ,Tom Benson, John Cook (Birds, Portsmouth Russum Architects) ,Tumpa Yasmin Fellows, Christina Geros, Jon Goodbun , Monica Cristu (Sheppard Robson Architects) , Susannah Hagan, Alican lnal, Karin Jaschke, Oscar McDonald (Conibere Phillips Architects), Laura Nica (Foster+ Partners), Godofredo Perreira, Ben Pollock (Jestico Whiles Architects), Anthony Powis. Alfredo Ramirez, Damaso Randulfe, Calvin Sin (Jump Studios/ Populous), Alice Thompson (MATA Architects), Alex Watt (Eric Parry Architects) , Charles Weston Smith, John Zhang
Special Thanks:
The Quinton Hogg Trust; Kazi Ashraf and Saif UI Haque of the Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements; Afroza Parvin and Shibu Bose of Khulna University
Monsoon Assemblages:
http://www.monass.org Monsoon Assemblages is a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 679873)
Yota Adilenidou ,Tom Benson, John Cook (Birds, Portsmouth Russum Architects) ,Tumpa Yasmin Fellows, Christina Geros, Jon Goodbun , Monica Cristu (Sheppard Robson Architects) , Susannah Hagan, Alican lnal, Karin Jaschke, Oscar McDonald (Conibere Phillips Architects), Laura Nica (Foster+ Partners), Godofredo Perreira, Ben Pollock (Jestico Whiles Architects), Anthony Powis. Alfredo Ramirez, Damaso Randulfe, Calvin Sin (Jump Studios/ Populous), Alice Thompson (MATA Architects), Alex Watt (Eric Parry Architects) , Charles Weston Smith, John Zhang
Special Thanks:
The Quinton Hogg Trust; Kazi Ashraf and Saif UI Haque of the Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements; Afroza Parvin and Shibu Bose of Khulna University
Monsoon Assemblages:
http://www.monass.org Monsoon Assemblages is a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 679873)